


Convincing Cooper

by CoffeeAddict80



Series: Desperate Times... 'verse [14]
Category: Glee
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeAddict80/pseuds/CoffeeAddict80
Summary: ((One-shot in the Desperate Times ‘Verse. You should probably read that story first. 1st half takes place 2 days after Kurt & Blaine officially become a couple. 2nd half takes place 3months later at end of August))When Cooper hears about Kurt and Blaine's new relationship status, he's immediately concerned about his little brother. Blaine's track record with men has led him to believe that Kurt isn't who Blaine thinks he is, so he arranges a trip to NY to judge Kurt for himself.





	Convincing Cooper

**Author's Note:**

> *WARNING: Anxiety attack

_**[May – 2 days after Kurt & Blaine start dating – Saturday Morning]** _

The sound of the ringing phone startled Blaine awake. He reached over to his nightstand, blindly searching for the offending device, while burying his head under his pillow to muffle the noise. Once he found it, Blane answered immediately without bothering to glance at the screen. “’llo?” he mumbled his greeting into the receiver.

“Squirt? Is that you?” his brother’s voice responded.

“Coop?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Were you sleeping? Isn’t it, like, 10am in New York? You rarely sleep past 8:00. You okay, Blainey?” Cooper asked.

“’m fine; just tired. I work overnight shifts on weekends, remember?” Blaine reminded him. “Only got home three hours ago.”

“Oh, right. Forgot about that,” Cooper began.

Before he could continue Blaine cut him off, sounding more alert than he did earlier, “Wait, it’s 7am in LA. Why are you calling me at this hour? Did something happen? Is everything okay?”

“Calm down,” Cooper replied. “I’m fine. It’s _you_ I’m worried about.”

“Me? Why?”

“You changed your relationship status on Facebook. Care to explain what that’s all about? Because you couldn’t possibly be dating someone that you’ve never once mentioned to me before; especially since it wasn’t all that long ago that you swore off romance and relationships forever,” he said.

“First of all, that was a year and a half ago. Secondly, I was in a really bad place when I said that; so I shouldn’t be held accountable for it. And thirdly, are you sure I’ve never mentioned Kurt to you before?” Blaine replied.

“No, you didn’t; which is why I need you to tell me _everything_ about him right now; because his security settings on his Facebook page won’t allow me to view his profile and I need to make sure he’s good enough for you,” he answered.

“Oh my god, Coop! You tried to Facebook-stalk him?” Blaine asked, disbelieving.

Cooper scoffed. “Of course I did. Now stop deflecting and start talking. Where did you meet him? How long have you known him? How old is he? What -”

Blaine cut Cooper off mid-sentence, “His full name is Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. He’s 21 years old, turning 22 in exactly one week. He was born and raised in Lima, Ohio. Moved to New York shortly after graduating highschool. He attends NYVAPA U with me, where he double majors in Musical Theater and Screen & Playwriting, and minors in Costume Design. I have known him for 3 years. We have had at least one class together every semester since we started college. He went to McKinley with Santana; and was on both the Cheerios and in the glee club with her. She likes him. She _trusts_ him. Do I need to continue?”

“Wait a minute. He’s from Lima? And he’s friends with Santana?” Cooper checked. “If that’s true, why haven’t I ever heard about him before?”

“You know Santana didn’t like talking about her friends at McKinley. Well, except for Brittany, that is,” Blaine started. “She had personal reasons for wanting to keep me separate from anything to do with McKinley that I never quite understood. I think it had something to do with guilt over being sort-of-friends with most of the people that used to bully me in middle school, but I don’t really know for sure. But she also never mentioned me to her McKinley friends either; so there’s that. Although, that was mostly to protect her reputation; but part of it was also protecting me from all the homophobes at her school too. And after learning about all the crap Kurt had to go through, I can understand why she did.”

“Okay…” Cooper said slowly, thinking over Blaine’s explanation. “But you said you’ve known him for 3 years? You didn’t meet him in Lima? And if you’ve known him for that long why is this the first I’m hearing about him?”

Blaine sighed. “I’ve known him for three years, but I only really started talking to him and hanging out with him about two months ago – when he found out that Santana was living with me here in New York. We were just acquaintances before then; so there really was no reason for me to mention him. And we only started dating Thursday evening. I haven’t had time to tell anyone except Santana about our change in relationship status.

“And no; I didn’t know him, or even meet him, when we lived in Lima because he attended Garfield Elementary and Lima Middle School; while Santana and I went to Lima Heights Elementary and West Lima Middle. Santana didn’t meet him until highschool. And, like I said, she made sure to keep me and her McKinley friends separate from each other; so I never met him while we lived there.

“And I know for a fact that since Kurt and I became friends that I’ve mentioned him to mom more than once; so it’s not like I was keeping my friendship with him a secret or anything. In fact, I’m sure that I’ve mentioned his name in some of my Facebook statuses too; so how is it that you _haven’t_ heard of him?” he asked.

“You can’t expect a busy person like me to read every single status update from every single one of my Facebook friends, can you? I have hundreds of friends, Blainey; sorry if I missed a post here-and-there,” Cooper said. “But back to Kurt… basically what you’re telling me is that you’ve only known him for two months. And yet, you think you know him well enough to _date_ him?”

“Oh my god, Cooper,” Blaine grumbled, letting out an annoyed sigh, “It’s not like I asked Kurt to marry me; we’re just dating. And isn’t the point of dating someone to get to know them better? Besides, I know more personal information about Kurt than I do all of my ex-boyfriends _combined_. Trust me; you don’t have anything to worry about with him.”

“Does he know you do porn?” Cooper asked.

“Yes, he knows. And before you ask: yes, he’s okay with that,” he replied.

“But _how_ okay is he, really?” Cooper questioned. “He’s not dating you _because_ you’re a porn star, is he? Because some guys just wanna play out their little fantasy of hooking up with a porn star, but then they drop ‘em when that initial thrill wears off and real-life sets in. People assume that being with a porn star means they’re going have hot, wild, kinky sex all the time; and they don’t take into consideration the realities of what a relationship with that type of public figure entails – from the unwanted physical attention in public places, to the anger and jealousy over seeing their partner having sex with dozens of other people. I don’t want you getting hurt. If this guy seems like he’s _too_ comfortable with your job, that’s a big red flag; and you need to be aware of it.”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, Coop; I really do,” Blaine said. “But I can guarantee that Kurt is not dating me because of some porn fantasy. He found out I was a porn star about three months before we really started talking and hanging out together. It never changed the way we interacted at all. He didn’t suddenly start to pay attention to me or treat me any differently because of it. He likes me for who I am, not what I do, or what I look like. Sex isn’t important to him. He doesn’t care about my money, my job… He has treated me with nothing but respect; he doesn’t objectify me, or expect things from me… He’s never tried to pressure me or guilt me into doing anything. He makes me feel good about myself. He is honestly the most compassionate person I have ever met; and I really need you to just trust me on this, okay? Because I am already head over heels in love with him, and I need my big brother’s support. Please?”

Blaine could hear Cooper slowly letting out a deep breath in reaction to what he’d just said. “I want to trust you, Squirt. But you always try so hard to see the good in everyone that a lot of times you overlook the bad. It’s not that I don’t believe you, Blainey. I mean, I honestly believe that _you_ believe Kurt is a decent guy. I just don’t know if you’re seeing him as clearly as you should.”

“If Santana told you that Kurt is a decent guy would you believe her? Trust her opinion?” Blaine asked, getting up out of bed and walking over to his dresser. He fished out some boxers and hurriedly put them on.

“Probably. She wouldn’t be as biased or as blinded as you can be,” Cooper answered.

Blaine left his bedroom and walked into the living room where Santana was giving herself a manicure. “What are you doing awake?” she asked as Blaine sat down next to her on the couch.

“I need you to do me a favor. Can you tell Cooper that Kurt is actually a trustworthy person; and that he doesn’t need to worry about him having any ulterior motives or hurting me?” Blaine asked, attempting to hand her his phone.

Santana nodded at him in understanding. “Put it on speaker,” she said, waving her wet fingernails at him.

Blaine put the phone on speaker then placed it on the coffee table in front of them. After that, he rested his head on Santana’s shoulder, cuddled into her side, and slowly started drifting back to sleep.

~*~

“Hey Hot Stuff; I hear you got questions about Hummel,” Santana began. “What do you want to know?”

“You know him, right?” Cooper asked. “Do you trust him? Or do you think there’s a chance he could be playing Blaine?”

“No, no, he’s definitely not playing around. Hummel’s on the up and up. I have no reason to believe that he’d do anything to hurt Blaine. I trust him,” she told him.

Santana began to retrieve the bottle of nail polish from the side table next to her, but Blaine clinging to her side limited the mobility of her right arm. Nudging Blaine off her shoulder, she motioned for him to grab a nearby throw pillow and place it on her lap; then she motioned for Blaine to lay back down. Once Blaine was laying down on the couch with his head in Santana’s lap, she retrieved her nail polish and tuned back in to hear Cooper’s next question.

“So, you don’t think there’s any chance this guy might be using Blaine? Or taking advantage of him at all? He’s not just hooking up with Blaine because he’s a porn star, or because his family has money?” he asked.

She looked down at Blaine with a confused expression, and Blaine just silently shook his head, hoping she understood not to tell Cooper that Kurt was also a porn star. Santana rolled her eyes at him, and nodded before answering Cooper, “No, Hummel wouldn’t do that. He’s very… _quiet_ …about his sex life; doesn’t go around bragging or boasting. Tries to change the subject whenever it gets brought up. He’s also really independent; doesn’t like relying on others; likes to work for, and earn, the things he gets.

“And he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Blaine’s money. Last week, when we ordered takeout, Hummel insisted on giving Blaine money to help pay for it – even after Blaine refused. He only backed down when Blainers said it was paying him back for when he paid for Blaine’s cab fare the other day. I’m telling you, Hummel’s a good guy. You can trust him.

“Actually… You know what? I just thought of something that might help ease your mind a little. You remember when Blaine and I were seniors in highschool; and Ohio was having that special election for Congress? And there was that one candidate that was very unpolitician-like? Very blue-collar; straightforward; take-no-bullshit kind of guy? Advocate for LGBT+ rights and school arts programs? And you had said that you admired his honesty and work ethic? And that if you still had an Ohio address that you’d vote for the guy?”

“Yeah…?” Cooper answered slowly, not sure where she was going with this. “But what does that have to do with this Kurt guy? Or getting me to trust him?”

“That’s Kurt’s dad. And trust me when I say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she told him. “They’re a lot alike. So, if you think Burt is a stand-up guy, you should think the same way about his son.”

“One more question,” Cooper replied. “Does he get along with his dad?”

Santana seemed confused by the question, but answered him anyway, “Of course he does. They’re actually really close. Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking…maybe if they didn’t get along…dating Blaine could be his way of hurting his father. If word gets out… I mean, why else would the son of a high-profile politician want to date a gay porn star, except to maybe ruin his father’s career?” he suggested.

“No, no, absolutely not! Kurt would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone; _especially_ his dad,” Santana exclaimed, adamantly. “Family is way too important to him; and his dad is all that he has left. I know Kurt. This is not a ploy of any kind. He’s dating Blaine because he honestly _loves_ Blaine. End of story. …And also, Burt isn’t a Congressman anymore. He only served one term. Didn’t run for re-election for personal reasons. So you can throw that theory right out the window.”

“Okay; if you say so. But I want you to keep me in the loop about this guy though; and his and Blaine’s relationship. The second something seems off, I wanna know. I’m not letting my little brother get hurt again.” Cooper told her.

“I will, Coop. Even though it’s unnecessary,” she replied.

“Thanks, San. I gotta run. Can you tell Blainey I said ‘bye’?” Cooper asked.

Santana looked down at her lap to see Blaine completely asleep. She chuckled quietly to herself before answering, “Yeah, sure, as soon as he wakes up.”

\---

_**[Monday Afternoon]** _

Kurt checked his phone as he exited his last class of the day and saw a text from Blaine that had been sent almost an hour ago.

**To Kurt > From Blaine**: Can you come over when you finish classes? I want to talk to you about something. Nothing bad! But kind of important

Kurt didn’t need to rush home, and he didn’t have to go to work, so he agreed to go Blaine’s.

**To Blaine > From Kurt:** On my way now. Everything ok?

It only took a few seconds for a reply to come through.

**To Kurt > From Blaine:** Yeah. Tell you more when you arrive

\---

“Thanks for coming over,” Blaine said, as he led Kurt into the living room.

“You said it was important,” he replied. “So, what’s up?”

The boys took a seat on the couch before Blaine answered. “My brother called me this weekend. A couple times, actually. He, um, he saw the Facebook notification that I changed my relationship status and said he was concerned about me. I mean, I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to dating. He thinks there’s a chance I’m not seeing you as clearly as I should. I even had Santana talk to him, to reassure him that you would never intentionally hurt me, but he’s still a little wary.”

“Okay…” Kurt began slowly. “What does that mean exactly?” Blaine appeared confused by Kurt question, so Kurt tried to elaborate. “It’s just, there’s a reason you’re telling me that your brother doesn’t trust me, right? And you said this wasn’t a bad conversation, so I don’t _think_ you’re trying to break-up with me. So, I guess I’m just trying to understand what this is all about.”

“No, no, of course I’m not breaking up with you!” Blaine reassured him. “The point of this is: that Cooper sent me a text this morning. He booked a flight to New York for the end of August. He’ll be here for about 4 or 5 days. He wanted to visit sooner, but late August is the first opening in his schedule that allows him to be away from Cali for more than 24 hours. He wants to meet you in person; judge you for himself.

“I would _love_ if you guys could get along – if you guys actually _liked_ each other – but even if you don’t, it won’t change anything. I’ll still love you, even if he doesn’t. I just wanted you to be aware of what we talked about; to know that he wants to meet you.”

“When you say: ‘what you talked about’,” Kurt hesitated, “was it _just_ that he’s uncertain if he can trust me? And that he’s coming to New York in a few months? Or is there more?”

“It’s not that he doesn’t trust _you_ , exactly. It’s more like, he doesn’t trust my perceptions of you. He said he tried to Facebook-stalk you, so he could learn more about you,” Blaine said. “I thought if I gave him some basic information about you – the kind of things he’d learn by reading your Facebook profile – it might assuage his fears a little; but I don’t think it worked. Because I didn’t tell him that we work together; and I told Santana not to tell him either. I didn’t think it was my place to divulge that information. Unfortunately, by not telling him, I made him think that there was a possibility that you only wanted to be with me because I’m a porn star.”

“Oh.” Kurt bit his lip then nervously added, “You can tell him. If you think it will help. It’s okay.”

Blaine shook his head adamantly. “No. You said you’re not comfortable with people knowing. And I respect that. Not to mention, if he finds out, you’ll probably be subjected to the same jokes and constant teasing that he gives me about my sex life. And while I might be okay with him doing that to me, I know it would bother you. I don’t want to put you into an uncomfortable position. Besides, I don’t even know if telling him _would_ help. My brother and I have a very complicated relationship. I love him to death, but our relationship has never been simple.”

“What do you mean by ‘complicated’?” he asked. “Only if you feel like talking about it, that is. No pressure.”

“You mean besides the fact that there’s a ten-year age difference between us? And he moved to the other side of the country when I was eleven?” Blaine replied.

“Yeah, I know that,” Kurt began. “But, it’s just that, when you’ve mentioned that before, it sounded like you were just stating facts, not alluding to a source of complications or issues.”

“Well, it did make it difficult for us to be close growing up,” he said. “I mean, no teenager wants their little sibling following them around everywhere, especially when they’re trying to hang out with friends their own age. But when you’re five or six years old, you don’t understand that; all you do understand is that your big brother keeps trying to avoid spending time with you, and is constantly telling you to ‘get lost’. Him moving over 2,000 miles away a few years later, just kind of reinforced that idea that he didn’t want to be around me.

“Now that I’m older, I understand that’s not the case. But back then, I didn’t. That hurt and resentment stuck with me for a while. We’ve gotten closer as we’ve gotten older; but we still have issues understanding and relating to each other sometimes. Because despite being brothers, we’ve had two completely different upbringings. He was a spoiled brat that was constantly doted on; while I was raised very modestly, and taught not to take advantage of my family’s money or social status. Throw in the fact that he’s straight, doesn’t have any mental illnesses, has an acting career that he can publicly talk about without any social stigmas, and is adored by virtually _everyone_ , well…”

Kurt titled his head in confusion. “Wait a sec. Why would your parents raise you so differently? Because of your sexuality? Or your mental health? Neither of those things were discernible until you were a teenager. Why would your childhood be so vastly different from Cooper’s? Or am I missing something?”

“Because from a biological standpoint Cooper is technically my half-brother. When he was born, my mom was still in highschool, so she still lived with her parents and her three younger siblings. And _they_ are the ones that spoiled Cooper rotten. They allowed him to get away with so much; because he was their first grandchild and only nephew. And he was still being spoiled by them even after my parents first got married too, because Coop and my parents lived in my grandparents’ basement apartment suite for a while.

“But my parents bought a house over two hours away from the rest my mom’s family just before I was born, so I wasn’t exposed to that type of treatment. Because, by then, my mom was no longer in school full-time, so she didn’t need her family to be a 24-hour day care service. I wasn’t constantly surrounded by them, and receiving gifts just because. My parents were actually able to raise me themselves, with only the occasional babysitter.

“My dad had _tried_ to impose some rules and boundaries once he’d adopted Cooper, but it didn’t really work. And since he didn’t want to taint his carefully cultivated relationship with Cooper by having Cooper resent him, he let a ton of shit slide – never punishing him or holding him accountable unless it was a _major_ offense. Sometimes even convincing my mom to go light on the punishments she would deal out – just to stay on Coop’s good side.

“While I, on the other hand, didn’t have years of being coddled to contend with. Nor was my dad a stranger trying to incorporate himself into my fully established lifestyle; he didn’t have to try so hard to get into my good graces. I was born a blank slate that my dad could mold into the perfect, obedient son – with no pre-existing knowledge or life experiences to hold me back from completely accepting him.”

“Ah, okay,” Kurt said, nodding. “Definitely understanding the complexity of your relationship a little bit better now. And, I know it’s not the same, but I had my own set of family issues when my dad and Carole’s relationship first started to become serious. Seeing the way my dad interacted with Finn, and all the bonding they were doing over things I couldn’t care less about – like sports – it sort of felt like my dad was trying to replace me; that he didn’t need me anymore because he finally had the straight son he always wanted. But then the first couple of times my dad tried to punish Finn for something, he got the _‘I don’t have to listen to you; you’re not my real dad’_ argument. And that definitely created a temporary rift in their relationship. I can totally see how your father would want to avoid something like that by prioritizing being a friend over an authority figure.”

The two boys continued discussing Cooper – and Blaine’s relationship with him – so that Kurt knew a little more of what to expect when Cooper visited in a few months.

\---

\---

_**[3 months later – End of August – Thursday Afternoon]** _

Kurt was watching Blaine as he paced back and forth in front of baggage claim. “Bee, honey, please stop pacing. You’re starting to make me dizzy,” he told him.

“Sorry; I can’t help it. Cooper’s plane supposedly landed 40 minutes ago, and he’s not here yet. I’m nervous enough about the two of you finally meeting and wondering if you’ll actually get along; I don’t need to be worrying about something bad happening to him or his plane too,” Blaine confessed. “Where is he? Why isn’t he here yet? And why the hell isn’t my anxiety medication working!?”

“Honey, please,” Kurt pleaded, gently taking hold of Blaine’s arm to stop him from pacing. He began running his hand over Blaine’s back in a soothing manner and attempted to calm his worries. “It’s only been a few minutes. From everything you’ve told me about your brother, I’m sure he probably just got distracted chatting up one of the flight attendants or something. I’m sure everything is fine, and he’ll be here any minute now.

“What I need you to do right now, is look at me; _Cooper is okay_. He’s just a little late. And you know I wouldn’t tell you that unless I truly believed it.” Kurt gave him a soft, reassuring smile, while continuing to rub a hand over Blaine’s back. He used his free hand to take hold of one of Blaine’s hands, and gave it a light squeeze before lifting it to his lips and placing a small kiss on Blaine’s knuckles. “Now, I want you to take a deep breath; maybe do some of those exercises your therapist gave you? Because right now I’m a little scared that you’re about to have a panic attack at the airport,” he said, carefully. “Just remember that, no matter what, I’m right here; and I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe; and so is Cooper.”

Blaine nodded in reply and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. After a few minutes of quietly encouraging Blaine to breathe – while Blaine softly muttered a list of things his senses could recognize under his breath – Kurt looked up and noticed a familiar looking man approaching them. The guy put a finger to his lips then pointed at Blaine with a smirk on his face. Kurt scowled and shook his head. “Hey, Bee, can you look behind you for a sec?” Kurt asked. “I think Cooper’s here.”

Blaine’s eyes shot open and he turned around quickly. “Coop!” He rushed over and threw his arms around his brother in a tight bear hug.

“Hey, Squirt! It’s so good to see you!” Cooper said, hugging Blaine just as tightly. He glanced over at Kurt and added, “Though I _was_ trying to surprise you. But I guess your boyfriend here isn’t really one for having a little fun, is he?”

“What?” Blaine said, pulling back from the hug to give Cooper a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

Cooper nodded his head to where Kurt was standing – a few paces away from the brothers, not wanting to intrude too much on their reunion. “Telling you I was behind you – when I motioned for him to be quiet – kinda takes away the element of surprise I was going for. Spoiled the fun a little; wouldn’t you say?”

“Sorry, Cooper,” Kurt said, finally approaching them. “I just thought that, with the state he was in, sneaking up on him like that probably wasn’t the best idea.” He stuck his hand out in greeting and continued, “But it’s nice to finally meet you; I’m Kurt.”

Cooper accepted the handshake and replied, “Cooper. What do you mean ‘with the state he was in’? Blaine looked perfectly fine to me.”

“You saw my back for, like, two seconds, Coop,” Blaine answered. “I was practically on the verge of a panic attack. I’m still not even fully myself just yet.”

“Nonsense! I’ve been standing over there watching the two of you for the past 30 minutes,” Cooper replied. “Like I said, you looked perfectly fine to me. I mean, yeah, you were pacing a lot; but that was just pent up excitement about seeing me again.”

Blaine closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you are joking right now,” he pleaded. “That you were not really standing twenty feet away from me this whole time; watching me freak the fuck out, wondering where you were, thinking that something horrible happened to you… That you saw me starting to spiral into a panic, and just assumed that I was impatient to see you again. Please, _please_ tell me that is not what happened.”

“Uh…” Cooper began, hesitantly.

“You knew we were here to pick you up… knew where we were… you could _see_ us… why wouldn’t you let us know you were here?” Blaine stammered. “Why would you keep yourself hidden and _watch_ us? What purpose does that serve? Besides increasing my anxiety, that is.”

“People act differently when they don’t know they’re being watched,” he answered, shrugging. “Just tryna get a glimpse at the real Blaine and Kurt, you know? See how you are when you think no one’s looking.”

“Cooper, I love you, but you are an idiot!” Blaine said, clenching his hands into fists, barely able to restrain himself from smacking his brother.

Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine pulling him into his side, letting Blaine rest his head on Kurt’s shoulder, then started rubbing Blaine’s back again. “Calm down, Bee,” Kurt began, softly. “Your brother’s methods may have been flawed, but he meant well. He cares about you. He was just trying to make sure that you’re safe.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly safe if I’m having a panic attack or an anxiety attack because he wants to play a one-sided game of hide-and-seek, am I?” Blaine complained.

“I know, I know. Like, I said, he _meant_ well; he just went about it the wrong way,” Kurt said. “Plus, you have to remember: he lives on the other side of the country, and doesn’t see you every day like I do. You’re an amazing actor that’s extremely skilled in masking your true feelings and emotions. It’s going to be harder for him to pick up on subtle cues indicating your true emotional state. Especially when he’s not in earshot to hear you verbalize how worried you really are. I’m sure at that distance, without the auditory evidence, excited-impatience and distressed-anxiousness look very similar.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” Blaine muttered.

“No you don’t. Because I’m always right. And you love me,” Kurt told him. “But what do you say we get out of here and head back to your place already. Maybe stop and get some takeout on the way?”

Blaine nodded in agreement, stepped out of Kurt’s embrace, then turned back to his brother. “You have all your luggage? You ready to go?”

Cooper scrutinized the boys for a moment before smiling widely and throwing his arm over Blaine’s shoulder. “Sure am, little brother! Got my suitcase and my bag right here. So let’s go grab a cab and blow this joint,” he answered excitedly.

\---

“You doing okay, Bee?” Kurt asked, as Blaine rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder. They were sitting on Blaine’s couch, after lunch, not long after having returned to his apartment from the airport; partially empty cartons of Chinese takeout still scattered all over the coffee table. Cooper was quietly sitting in the armchair next to them; studying their behavior.

“Mm-hm,” Blaine hummed in acknowledgment. “Just feeling a little sleepy, is all. And you’re really comfy.”

Kurt gently carded his fingers through Blaine’s gel-slicked hair, and smiled sweetly at him. “If you’re feeling tired, you should get some rest.”

“Can’t. You and Coop are here. Gotta stay awake,” Blaine replied, stifling a yawn.

“Honey,” he began, carefully, “Cooper and I are big boys. We don’t need a babysitter; you don’t have to entertain us. We’ll be okay if you fall asleep.”

“Will you stay?” Blaine asked. “Promise you won’t leave without a proper goodbye?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied. “Unless something happens that is out of my control, I will be here when you wake up. But even then, I won’t leave without letting you know.”

Blaine lifted his head off Kurt’s shoulder to give him a soft kiss. “Love you,” he said, before curling back into Kurt’s side, and resting his head on Kurt’s shoulder again.

“Love you too, babe,” Kurt replied. “Now get some sleep.”

“Okay.” Blaine tightened his arm around Kurt’s waist, and closed his eyes.

“Don’t you want to go lay down? In your bed, perhaps?” he checked.

Blaine made a small hum of disagreement, while attempting to shake his head without moving it from Kurt’s shoulder, then began drifting off to sleep.

\---

Cooper watched Blaine’s breathing to make sure he was fully asleep before quietly beginning a conversation with Kurt. “So, Kurt, tell me: why do you like my brother?”

Pursing his lips together to prevent an annoyed sigh from escaping, Kurt took a second to compose himself before answering. “Well, let me start by clarifying that I don’t _just_ like him; I love him,” he began. “I am _in_ love with him. And that’s an important distinction you need to remember.” He paused, and glanced down at Blaine, allowing a fond smile to take over his face. “I think the real question is: how could I not fall in love with him?”

Kurt then looked back over at Cooper with a more serious expression. “Blaine is…” He let out a breath as he tried to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. “Blaine is so kind and caring. He’s sweet and charming. Thoughtful, generous. He understands my odd sense of humor, and laughs at my jokes – not because he’s placating me, but because he finds them genuinely amusing. Blaine is incredibly intelligent, and extremely talented.” Noticing the almost scandalized look of shock on Cooper’s face, Kurt rolled his eyes, and hastened to clarify, “Get your mind out of the gutter. Obviously when I said talented, I meant _theatrically_ and _musically_. Blaine is a phenomenal actor and a brilliant musician with a gorgeous singing voice. I’ve been in several acting classes with him. I’ve seen how seriously he takes every role he gets; even if it’s just a class exercise. Whether he’s playing the main character, or Peasant #3, it doesn’t matter to him.

“One thing about Blaine that I don’t think enough people recognize, is just how hard he works at everything he does. And I do mean _everything_. They don’t see the hours of studying, or rehearsal, that he puts into his classes, or the roles he’s been given. They don’t know how much effort he puts into even the smallest of things – a lot, of which, many people take for granted. They just see the results of all that hard work then write him off as some privileged teachers’ pet; and that couldn’t be further from the truth.” Kurt again glanced down at a sleeping Blaine then back up at Cooper before continuing. “He’s just a beautiful person; inside and out.”

Cooper nodded, considering what Kurt had told him. “And it doesn’t bother you at all that he has sex with other guys on camera, for anybody to see?”

“Blaine and I are both adults,” Kurt replied. “We’ve talked – at great lengths, mind you – about what it means to be a porn star, versus what it means to be in a committed relationship. We know where the lines are; and we don’t keep secrets.”

“What are those lines, exactly?” Cooper asked. “I mean, he gets to have tons of sex with a bunch of hot dudes whenever he wants…and you get what? Access to free pornos? Bragging rights about having a porn star boyfriend? Or did you work out some deal that allows you to fuck other guys on the side?”

Kurt groaned in annoyance, shaking his head just slightly as to not disturb Blaine. “No, Cooper. It’s not like that.”

“Then tell me what it’s like,” Cooper demanded. “Because right now, I don’t understand why you’d be so accepting of him having sex with other people, unless it somehow benefited you too.”

“Because it’s _just_ a job. It doesn’t _mean_ anything,” Kurt told him.

Cooper scoffed as he made a show of rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief.

“And it’s a job we do together,” Kurt added. A look of confusion flitted across Cooper’s face, so Kurt continued, “Recently, in most of the pornos that he has filmed, _I_ am his co-star. _That’s_ why it doesn’t bother me that he’s a porn star. Because I’m one too.”

“Blaine never told me that you worked with him,” he replied, suspiciously.

“Because he wasn’t allowed to,” Kurt said.

“Allowed? So, what, you’re forcing him to obey commands now? Requiring him to get your permission to talk to his own brother? Is that it?” Cooper challenged.

“Not by me. The production company we work for,” Kurt answered, annoyed. “Every single employee has to sign a non-disclosure agreement upon being hired. It prevents us from giving out _any_ personal information about anyone that we work with – no matter how minor the detail. And just like Blaine doesn’t use his legal name when he films a video, neither do I. Therefore, telling you that his boyfriend, Kurt, is one of his co-stars, is basically the same as telling you that his co-star is using a pseudonym on camera. It would be a breach of contract. There could be legal repercussions.”

“Seriously?” Cooper asked, shocked.

“Yeah, seriously,” Kurt confirmed. “Our company takes its employees’ privacy very seriously. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance to them. However, when Blaine told me you had booked a flight to New York, I told him that it was okay for him to tell you. My permission meant he wouldn’t be breaking his NDA; but he chose not to share that info with you, because he knew I wanted the number of people in my personal life that know about my career to be as small as possible. He didn’t want to make me uncomfortable.”

“But if you told him it was okay, that means you wouldn’t have been uncomfortable,” Cooper replied. “So why didn’t he tell me?”

“Actually, Cooper, I _am_ uncomfortable with you knowing,” he began. “I was very hesitant about giving permission; and extremely relieved when he declined to tell you. I’ve never been a fan of talking about sex. Questions and jokes about my sex life have _always_ bothered me; even when I didn’t have one to talk about. The only reason I told you just now, is because I’m hoping it will help you see that I’m _not_ the bad guy here.” Kurt closed his eyes, and took a few calming breaths, before opening them again, and looking back at Cooper. “Look, I know that you care about Blaine. I know that you think you’re doing the right thing by questioning him, and interrogating me. But you’re not. _Blaine is not his past_. And I don’t know how to stress that enough to you. Yes, the horrible things that have happened to him have influenced how he sees and reacts to things; but they don’t define him.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Blaine doesn’t learn from his past mistakes. He’s proven time and time again that when it comes to men, he thinks with his dick and not his head,” Cooper told him. “So, his past is the _exact_ reason I need to vet you for myself.”

“No, Cooper. His past is the exact reason you need to let him _choose_ for himself.” He could see Cooper preparing to argue, so he hurried to elaborate. “Stop and consider this a moment. Blaine suffers from clinical depression and anxiety. Your methods are causing him to doubt _himself_ ; not me. Because when you say to him, ‘ _I need to make sure Kurt’s good enough for you, so you don’t get hurt_ ’, all Blaine hears is, ‘ _I don’t trust you or your judgement’_ ; he hears, _‘You’re incapable of making smart decisions’_. His depression and anxiety will warp the intention behind your words, placing all the blame on himself. They will convince him that you are upset with _him_ ; that you don’t believe in _him_ ; you don’t trust _him_. His insecurity will increase; and his self-confidence will be torn to shreds.

“And because of that: your methods of ‘helping’ are driving an unintentional wedge between you and Blaine that neither of you can see just yet. Because if something should happen between Blaine and I – not that I think it will – but if we ever get into any type of argument or anything, Blaine is not going to want to talk to you about it. He won’t feel like you are someone he can trust to help him. He’s going to pretend everything is fine, and nothing happened because he doesn’t want to hear the words ‘ _I told you so_ ’. He’s going to continue to make himself miserable, just so he can try to prove you wrong.

“Blaine wasn’t asking for your _permission_ to date me. He was asking for your _support_. You don’t need to like me, but you need to respect what Blaine wants. Otherwise it’s just going to hurt both of you. The best thing you can do for him is tell him you support him. Let him know that you are willing to listen to him – his thoughts, his needs; and that, no matter what, you will be there for him – good or bad. Tell him you love him. Because if you don’t…he’s going to think you don’t trust him; and in turn that will make it harder for him to trust you.”

“You really think you know my brother better than I do?” Cooper asked. “You’ve been together, what? Three months? I’ve known him since he was born. You don’t know nearly as much as you think you do.”

“I never said that,” Kurt replied, somehow sounding simultaneously tense and tired. “Look, I don’t want to get into an argument with you about this. This isn’t a competition. And, while I do think you are severely underestimating how well I know Blaine – and how deeply I care for him – that doesn’t mean I’m downplaying your relationship; or claiming superiority. All I’m saying is _listen_ to your brother, and respect his decisions.” He picked up the remote up off the coffee table and turned the TV on, signaling that he was done talking, and found a movie to watch.

\---

As Blaine began to wake up, he started nuzzling against Kurt’s neck while making small hums of contentment, causing Kurt to glance down at him again. “Welcome back, sleepyhead,” Kurt said, softly; smiling sweetly.

“Mmm…hi,” Blaine replied. “You stayed.”

“Of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?” Kurt told him.

Blaine gave him a quick kiss then nodded in agreement. “I know, but…” he trailed off, shrugging. “How long was I out?”

“A little over an hour, I think,” Kurt answered. “You feeling any better?”

“Much!” he said, relieved. “Where’s Coop?”

“Right here, Squirt,” Cooper answered walking into the room from the kitchen and back over to the armchair.

Blaine turned to look at him. “Sorry I fell asleep,” Blaine told him. “I can never seem to stay awake for long after my anxiety meds do their job.”

“I didn’t see you take any medication,” Cooper replied, confused. “And I thought you only took them when the anxiety got really bad? Not all the time like the other stuff.”

“My anxiety _was_ really bad earlier,” he said. “I had to take them as soon as I got to the airport.”

“You were just coming to meet me. What did you have to be anxious about?” Cooper asked. “I’ve visited you dozens of times. And you looked totally fine at the airport. I don’t get it.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. And anxiety doesn’t need a reason to strike. It just does,” Blaine explained. “But when you factor in how stressed I’ve been over you meeting Kurt – and hoping you’d get along with him – plus, that stupid spying game you played at the airport… well, that just amplified everything; made it worse. I was not fine. At all. If it wasn’t for Kurt helping me to stay grounded, reminding me to breathe, and reassuring me that you hadn’t been viciously attacked on your way to baggage claim then my moderate anxiety attack probably would have turned into a full-blown panic attack.” Blaine then looked at Cooper with a puzzled expression. “And what are you talking about – ‘ _dozens of times_ ’? In the three years I’ve lived in New York this is only the fourth time you’ve come to visit me.”

Cooper waved off Blaine’s correction. “The actual numbers aren’t important; point is: it’s not the first time I’ve been here. But, uh, were you really having an anxiety attack earlier? I thought your boyfriend just said that as an excuse for him being a spoilsport?”

“ _I_ was the one that told you I had been starting to spiral, not him,” Blaine corrected. “And he was right to warn me that you were approaching. If he hadn’t, you could have triggered a panic attack; or I might have thought I was being assaulted, and fucking decked you. Either way it wouldn’t have ended well for either of us.

“But, yes, I was actually having an anxiety attack. I was just beginning to feel normal again when you finally showed up. And maybe it didn’t _look_ like there was anything wrong. But that’s because I always try so hard not to appear vulnerable, or, uh, not put-together while in public. Basically, if I’m going to stand out, and draw attention to myself, I want it to be for something I _want_ known about me – something positive; not because my mental illnesses are causing people to point at me and say, _‘what’s wrong with that guy?’_ , you know? So, I always try to at least _appear_ like nothing’s wrong, even when everything is. But I don’t always succeed at that. And I’m not sure I was doing that good of a job at it earlier either.”

Cooper looked at his brother with a mixture of pity and compassion, as Kurt put his arm around Blaine, silently comforting him. “Do, um…” Cooper hesitated, “do you get anxiety attacks often?”

“To the point where I need to take my medication? Not really. Usually it’s mild enough that sex or masturbation will make it go away,” he explained. “But for times when that isn’t an option, or it’s a little more severe, that’s when I have to take my meds.”

“You have sex to make your anxiety go away?” Cooper asked, confused.

“Yeah. I thought you knew that,” Blaine answered. “It’s one of the symptoms of my hypersexuality disorder; using sexual behaviors as a mood regulator. It’s one of the main reasons I masturbated so much when I was in highschool. All the stress from exams, the pressure from dad to be a model student and perfect son, dealing with the deep-seated homophobia that comes from living in a small conservative town, etc., etc. Just because I wasn’t medicated for my depression and anxiety before living in New York doesn’t mean I didn’t experience it.” He looked at his brother curiously for a moment then asked, “Coop? Why all the questions?”

“I’m sorry, Blainey,” he replied, shrugging. “I guess I just forgot how much that stuff affected you. But, uh, at least your boyfriend seems to be doing a good job of taking care of you.”

Blaine smiled, bashfully, and nodded. “Yeah, he does. We take care of each other, actually.” He hesitated for just a moment then in a nervous, hopeful voice asked, “I take it this means you approve of him?”

“I’m happy as long as you’re happy, Squirt; and you look happy,” Cooper answered.

Blaine began crying and laughing at the same time then quickly jumped off the couch and hug-attacked his brother. “Thank you! Thank you, Cooper. You don’t know how relieved that makes me. Thank you so much!”

“Alright, Blainey, jeez…” Cooper said, laughing and playfully shoving at his little brother. “You’re acting like I just handed you the lead in a Broadway play. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Cooper, you supporting my relationship with Kurt, means _more_ to me than getting the lead in some production – even a Broadway one,” Blaine replied, seriously. He went back over to the couch, cuddled up to Kurt, then continued speaking to his brother, “I told you when you first found out about our relationship that all I wanted was your support. _I meant that_. Knowing that my big brother is there for me…that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Always, Blainey,” Cooper confirmed, sincerely. “I’ll always have your back.”

Blaine nodded then buried his face in Kurt’s neck to try and hide his tears of joy from Cooper. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine comfortingly, and rubbed a hand over his back, before looking over at Cooper and mouthing the words ‘ _thank you_ ’.

\---

_**[Friday Morning]** _

**To Kurt > From Blaine:** I love you

**To Blaine > From Kurt:** Love you too. But why the random ILY text?

**To Kurt > From Blaine:** Cooper and I had a really long heart2heart after you left last night. This is the 1st time in a long time that I feel like he actually understands me. I owe that to you. He told me what you said to him. How it made him reevaluate some things. Thank you

**To Blaine > From Kurt:** You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy you 2 talked

**To Kurt > From Blaine:** Coop wants to know if you’ll join us for lunch? 12:30? My place? We’re ordering takeout from Gino’s

**To Blaine > From Kurt:** Sure. See you then

\---

As Kurt got off the elevator and began walking down the hall to Blaine’s apartment, the Anderson brothers stood in the open doorway with the delivery guy, exchanging money for bags of food. “Perfect timing!” Blaine said to Kurt.

Cooper carried the food to the dining room table, as Blaine thanked the driver then greeted Kurt with a kiss. “You ordered already?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind,” Blaine began. “I’m starving. I only had a slice of toast for breakfast at 7am. And you always get the same thing every time we go to Gino’s, so I just ordered you your usual. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” he reassured him. “It’s just easier to convince you to allow me to chip in some money when you haven’t already paid.”

“Well, you’ll need to talk to Cooper about that,” Blaine replied, cheekily. “He bought lunch today. Not me.”

Kurt looked over at Cooper, but before he could say anything, Cooper responded, “Keep your money. Consider this an apology lunch. For yesterday.”

Kurt sighed then reluctantly nodded in agreement, “Okay.”

“And out of curiosity,” Cooper continued, taking the containers out of the bags and arranging them on the table, “how did you get in the building? I was standing next to the intercom, and I know I didn’t buzz you in. The door buzzer didn’t even ring.”

Blaine piped up, “I gave him a key. In April.”

“You gave him a key to your apartment after only knowing him a month?” Cooper questioned. “Before you were even dating? Why?”

Santana walked out of her bedroom into the dining room, grumbling about how no one told her lunch had arrived, and started looking through the containers to find her meal.

“It felt right,” Blaine told his brother. “Santana’s known him for years; and was okay with me giving it to him. And Kurt and I were already really close friends by then. It’s reassuring to know that there’s someone I can trust close by that has a spare key in case of emergencies. Kurt is someone that _both_ of us,” he motioned between himself and Santana, “can call if we need him.”

“You mean like last Friday?” Santana mumbled around the french-fry in her mouth. She finished chewing and swallowing her fry before continuing, “When I forgot my keys, and you were working the overnight shift? I got home about the same time Hummel was getting out of work, so I only had to wait about a half hour for him to get here to get into the building, rather than try to find someplace else to crash for the night.”

“Exactly,” Blaine agreed.

“I’ve only ever used my key to get into the building when they know I’m coming over,” Kurt added. “But I always knock on the apartment door, and wait to be invited in. I don’t just let myself in because I have a key. Except for the one time a few weeks ago where Blaine _told me_ to let myself into the apartment – while I was on the phone with him, _and_ he was home.”

“I had a vibrator in my ass!” Blaine replied. “Of course I’m not going to walk into the other room to answer the door.”

“TMI, little brother,” Cooper said, shaking his head, and chuckling.

“Sorry, Coop,” he said, sheepishly.

“Are you guys gonna argue, or eat?” Santana asked. Once all three boys were seated at the table, and began digging into their lunches, she added, “Besides, I thought we invited Hummel over so Coop could tell him embarrassing stories about the Munchkin.”

Blaine made a noise of protest, finished swallowing the bite of food he had taken, and said, “I never agreed to that!”

“You didn’t. But I did,” Santana told him, smirking mischievously.

“Aw, come on, Squirt; it’s my duty as your big brother to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend,” Cooper said. “Are you really going to deny me that opportunity? I mean, how else is he supposed to know about the time when you were 7 years old, and you cried for an hour just because mom put your stuffed rabbit in the washing machine?” He turned to Kurt to elaborate on the story. “He refused to leave the laundry room, and just stared at the washing machine the entire time crying, _‘he’s drowning! You have to let him out! He can’t swim’_. Blaine _begged_ our mom to let him give the stuffed animal a ‘bath’ in the sink instead, but she refused. He continued crying even more when the rabbit went into the dryer – thinking the stuffed animal was going to burn to death or get heat exhaustion or something. When mom finally gave the clean rabbit back to him, he hugged that thing for _hours_ ; he wouldn’t even put it down until he was forced to – when it was time to go to school the next morning.”

Blaine glared at his brother before quietly grumbling, “Mr. Floppity wouldn’t have had to go in the washer if you didn’t spill an entire glass of chocolate milk on him.”

Kurt smiled at Blaine adoringly. “I think it’s sweet that you cared about Mr. Floppity’s well-being. It just goes to prove that you’ve always had a kind heart.”

“Really?” Blaine asked, self-consciously. “You don’t think my behavior was babyish?”

“Honey, you were just a kid,” he answered, sincerely. “You’re allowed to act childish at that age; expected to, even. It’s in the job description.”

“Hmm,” Cooper hummed, looking perplexed. “You don’t seem to be grasping the concept here,” he told Kurt. “I’m supposed to tell a funny story about Blaine; then _we_ are supposed to make fun of him together – but, like, in a friendly way, not a mean way. That’s how we become closer – like Blainey Boy here wants; by banding together to embarrass him. It’s called ‘ _bonding_ ’.

“Let’s try this again, shall we? Oh! I know! Okay, so, I think Blaine was around six that time he found some condoms in our dad’s medical bag, and thought they were balloons. So, he blows them up, uses his markers to draw on them and make them different colors, and then starts playing with them. And dad walks in, and is all, _‘what are you doing?’_. Blaine thinks he’s talking about why he was coloring them, then starts trying to explain that the balloons looked kind of drab and needed to be brightened up and made prettier. Eventually dad ends up having to explain to him that they’re not balloons. He tells Blaine that they are special medical equipment used to prevent certain types of diseases; and that’s why they come in individual sterile wrappers – instead of loose in a bag like the balloons at the party store. So then, Blaine is all upset and crying because he thinks he just damaged important, expensive medical supplies. After dad finally calmed him down, Blaine was told he couldn’t watch TV or listen to music for a whole week because he went through dad’s work stuff. He was so upset. It was hilarious. Although, if you think about it, it’s kind of fitting that the boy who thought condoms were toys grew up to be a porn star; don’t you agree?”

Blaine pouted as he looked over at Kurt, who had his mouth covered and was trying desperately not to laugh. “It’s not funny! I was six! How was I supposed to know what a condom was? It’s not like anyone ever explained sex to me at that age.”

“I’m sorry, Bee,” Kurt gasped in between suppressed laughs. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear. It’s just…it _is_ kind of funny. Also, hearing about how you thought the condoms were dull looking, and needed some color, reminded me of how excited you were when you saw those multi-colored glow-in-the-dark condoms at work a few weeks ago. Some things never change I guess…

“Although, I’m curious about something…” he hesitated, “if the condoms were in your dad’s medical bag, what made you tear open the wrappers in the first place? Do you remember? I mean, did your dad usually keep toys or candy in his bag? Or was one of the wrappers already open or something? I guess I’m just wondering why you’d think there’d be a balloon in that tiny foil package. Or even why you’d think it might be something other than medical supplies.”

“That’s the thing,” Blaine began, “I didn’t go into my dad’s bag. I found them in one of the vanity drawers in the bathroom I shared with Cooper. I thought they were those individually wrapped hand sanitizing wipes that I would see my mom keep in her purse, until I opened one of them to clean my hands. And I took them because I thought that the only reason Coop would keep balloons in the bathroom is if he planned on filling them with water and attacking me. I was just preemptively defending myself. And balloons are cheap enough, and harmless enough, that I didn’t think I’d get in trouble if he tattled on me for taking them. And what’s the point in having balloons if you don’t play with them? I didn’t know what they really were, or what they were used for. My dad just assumed they came from his bag, and I was too scared to correct him.”

Santana’s laughter filled the room. “Oh my god, this story just keeps getting better and better! Hot Stuff over here hides condoms in the bathroom in case of spontaneous sexy times, and the Munchkin thinks his brother is planning a water balloon attack. Priceless!”

“I was _six_!” Blaine reiterated.

“Oh, honey…” Kurt cooed.

Blaine crossed his arms in a huff and frowned. “Can we be done with this whole ‘telling embarrassing stories about Blaine’ thing now?”

“Nope!” Cooper replied, cheerily. “Sorry, little brother. I’ve still got _years’_ worth of stories to tell.”

“Cooper, as much as I would love to learn more about Blaine’s life growing up, I think you should just cool it for right now,” Kurt suggested. “Blaine’s obviously not in the mood. But, hey, if you want to tell me some _non_ -embarrassing stories, maybe he’d be okay with that?”

“Thank you,” Blaine whispered, gratefully. He leaned in to kiss Kurt, but then hastily pulled back and covered his mouth before their lips could connect. “Sorry. I forgot…” He pointed at his lunch, then back to his mouth. “I just ate a ton of garlic fries. You don’t want to kiss me right now.”

“Oh, please!” Santana scoffed. “If he’s willing to kiss that mouth of yours after you eat out his _ass_ , then I don’t think garlic fries are gonna be a problem for him.”

“Santana!” Kurt and Blaine both yelled in unison.

“What!? It’s the truth, isn’t it?” she argued.

“Whether or not it is, is absolutely none of your business,” Kurt told her. “My sex life is private. And you shouldn’t concern yourself with the details.”

“Considering your career as a porn star,” Cooper interjected, looking straight at Kurt, “I’d say that the details of your sex life are quite public. When you put yourself out there like that you’re making it our business.”

“Those are two completely different things,” Kurt began to argue.

Blaine cut Kurt off and looked at his brother in shock. “How did you know he was a porn star? I never told you about that.” He then turned to Santana. “Did you tell him? After I specifically asked you not to?”

“I told him,” Kurt said, cutting off whatever Santana was about to say.

“What? Sweetie, why would you do that?” Blaine asked, tentatively. “I thought you weren’t comfortable with him knowing? I know you want to limit the number of people in your personal life that know about your professional career. I don’t understand why…”

Kurt shrugged. “I know, but… When we were talking yesterday – while you were asleep – I sort of felt like I had to tell him. It wasn’t like I really _wanted_ to tell him or anything, but… I don’t know. It just felt necessary. But in your text earlier…you said that Cooper told you what we talked about. But he didn’t mention this to you?”

Blaine shook his head, then turned to Cooper for answers.

“Considering how the topic came up, I may have left that part out,” Cooper replied, sheepishly.

“What did you do?” Blaine groaned.

“Honey,” Kurt began gently, trying to get Blaine’s attention. “Your brother was just trying to understand why I was so accepting of your career. Nothing more. Telling him seemed like the best solution.”

“Are you sure?” Blaine asked, skeptically. “He didn’t threaten you or anything?”

“I promise,” Kurt confirmed, climbing into Blaine’s lap and straddling him. He put his arms around Blaine’s neck, and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “He did not threaten me. He was just being a concerned older brother.”

“Okay. If you say so,” Blaine agreed, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s waist. “But when you get sick of him making stupid sex jokes, don’t come crying to me. I tried to warn you. Also, just so you know, choosing to sit in my lap probably wasn’t your best idea either.”

Kurt looked concerned as he tried to get up and began to apologize, “I’m sorry. I should have asked first. Are you alright?”

Blaine tightened his grip on Kurt, holding him in place. He gave Kurt a cheeky grin then said, “I’m fine. I only meant it was a bad decision because I really enjoy having you on top of me; it feels good. And so now you’re stuck here; possibly forever. Because I’m not letting you go.” He then leaned in a kissed Kurt sweetly.

“Ugh!” Santana groaned, rolling her eyes. “Okay, two things. One: I told you he wouldn’t care about your nasty garlic breath. And two: just because people will pay good money to see you two fuck each other’s brains out, doesn’t mean anyone wants to see all this lovey-dovey crap. It’s gross. And I just ate. So spare me.”

“Oh, hush!” Blaine chided her, playfully. “You know if Brittany were here right now you’d be doing the same thing, so…” He concluded his statement by sticking his tongue out at her.

Santana glared at him and turned away with a quiet huff.

Blaine smirked at her reaction. “Thought so,” he mumbled under his breath.

“So, it’s okay if your brother tells me some cute stories about the two of you growing up together that aren’t _intentionally_ embarrassing?” Kurt asked hopefully, while giving Blaine gentle bunny kisses. “Pretty please?”

“Only if you continue to sit in my lap,” he replied, flirtatiously.

“Deal,” he agreed. “But can I at least turn around, so Cooper won’t be talking to my back?”

Blaine let out an overdramatic sigh and eyeroll before answering with faux reluctance, “I suppose.”

\---

Cooper and Blaine both continued to share stories of Blaine’s childhood, with Santana occasionally tossing in her own story here-and-there. Around 2pm, Santana left to go work, while the boys cleared away the remnants of their lunch then moved their conversation to the living room.

When Blaine excused himself to go use the bathroom, Cooper got a mischievous smirk on his face. “Did Blaine ever tell you about the time our parents found his porn collection?” he asked Kurt.

“Sort of; but not really,” Kurt answered. “He mentioned that they found it, and that that’s what led to finding out about his hypersexuality disorder, but I didn’t get any details about how they found it, or what else happened.”

“Oh, you’ll love this!” Cooper said, preparing to tell Kurt the full story. “Blaine used to have this shallow storage trunk, that he kept under his bed, filled will all kinds of porn – DVDs, magazines, that sort of stuff; but it also had a few sex toys too – mostly vibrators and dildos. Now, our parents always respected our privacy and would never dream to go snooping through the stuff in our rooms, so he felt confident that it’d be safe there. But one day, Blaine had pulled the trunk out from under the bed then left it open in the middle of the room while he went to take a shower. And he also left his bedroom door wide open too.

“My parents go up to his room for some reason – ask him a question, or tell him something, I’m not sure exactly – anyway, they see this trunk full of porn and sex toys. And Blainey was only 17 at the time, so he couldn’t have _legally_ purchased any of that stuff himself, you know? But anyway, while they are standing there in his room staring at this trunk full of porn, Blaine is literally a few feet away in the en suite masturbating. Loudly. And I don’t even think the bathroom door was shut all the way either – I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my brother rarely ever closes the bathroom door when he’s in there – so it was _very_ obvious what he was doing.”

Blaine returned to the living room, hearing just enough of Cooper’s story to know that his brother was purposefully trying to embarrass him again. He made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a whine, before rolling his eyes and sighing in resignation. He then motioned for Cooper to finish his story and sat back down on the couch next to Kurt.

Cooper looks back over at Kurt and continues talking as though he was never interrupted, “I just so happened to be visiting that weekend. And I’m on my way to my room, and see my parents standing in the middle of Blainey’s room talking quietly to each other. Naturally, I get curious and try to find out what’s going on. They point at the open trunk and ask me if I bought that stuff for him. Before I can answer, Blaine walks back into his room completely naked with a dildo in his hand and tries to act like everything is completely normal; like nothing happened. Once Blainey is dressed, they take him downstairs to the living room to talk – though I’m pretty sure our parents were _way_ more uncomfortable with that talk than he was – and dad tells Blaine that since he’s still a minor he’s too young for the contents of the trunk; then confiscates the entire thing and says he can have it back when he turns 18. Eventually, that talk led to him getting set up with a bunch of doctors’ appointments which you already know the result of. The best part of it though was that Blaine was more upset over his stuff getting confiscated than he was at them finding out he owned it in the first place. He wasn’t even bothered by his entire family having heard him masturbating or seeing him naked. Poor Blainey was so mad that he barely even left his room the entire weekend I was home.”

Blaine gave his brother a look of confused annoyance. “I stayed in my room because I was _grounded_ ; not because I was upset my trunk was confiscated. They grounded me for ‘illegally’ shopping on 18+ only websites. But can you honestly blame me for being upset that they took my stuff? That trunk contained some of my favorite toys and videos! Although, luckily, that trunk wasn’t the _only_ place I kept my porn; so I thankfully still had some of it. There was a small vibrator and a few magazines in my nightstand drawer. And I also had an external hard drive for my laptop filled to capacity with porn too. But why should I be upset that they found it? Besides the fact that finding it led to them confiscating it? You know better than anyone that I’ve never been shy when it comes to anything related to sex. I mean, how many times did you walk in on me watching porn or jerking off? Because I’ve lost count. And not being afraid to be seen or heard while naked and/or pleasuring yourself is a characteristic needed to be a successful porn star.”

“I didn’t know you were grounded. I thought you were just throwing yourself a pity party,” Cooper told him. “But, hey, now that you mention it, how did you get away with buying all that stuff in the first place anyway? While I was a minor, mom and dad monitored all my debit card usage.”

“I learned from your mistakes,” Blaine said, smirking. “I used cash that I would save up to buy one of those Visa Gift Cards from the convenience store. Then I used that to buy the stuff online, so the purchases never showed up on my bank statements. Also, I had a fake ID, so sometimes I would drive down to Columbus and go shopping in the adult stores down there.”

“You had a fake ID!?” Cooper exclaimed, impressed. “I never knew about that. How? Why? You always acted like such a goody-two-shoes. Maybe you were a better actor than I thought…”

“That wasn’t acting. I _was_ a goody-two-shoes,” Blaine confirmed. “But I was given the ID by my ex, so we could go a gay bar. And before you say anything, I only went along with it because there weren’t a lot of alternatives for two gay guys to go on a date in Ohio without fear of assault or verbal harassment. I didn’t go there with intent to get drunk and hook-up with guys. And I never went back to that bar after we broke up.

“But I figured since I still had the ID, I might as well use it. Lying about my age in order to buy porn didn’t seem like a big deal to me. If sex and nudity need to be kept out of the hands of minors, then why are minors legally allowed to have sex? I mean, the legal age of consent in Ohio is 16. It didn’t make any sense that it was okay for me to _have_ sex, but not _watch_ people who have consented to being filmed for public consumption to have sex.”

“Huh…never thought of it like that,” Cooper mused.

\---

The stories continued on all throughout the rest of the afternoon and dinner; until Kurt had to leave for his internship.

“Hey, Kurt, let me walk you out to the elevator?” Cooper asked, as Kurt and Blaine were saying goodnight. He noticed the nervous glance that Blaine gave him, so he added, “No need to worry, Squirt; I’ll behave. Promise.”

Kurt agreed, and the two of them stepped out into the hall.

“Look, Kurt…” Cooper began, “I know I was hard on you yesterday. And I know I acted like a jerk when you were only trying to be nice to me and help Blaine out. I’m sorry for that. It was obvious to me how much my brother cares about you. He’s never talked about anyone the way he talks about you. Nor have I ever seen him look at someone the way he looks at you. But he’s not the best judge of character when it comes to guys. I was afraid he might be looking at you through rose-colored glasses, instead of through the lens of reality. And I got scared. Because he is so open, and so vulnerable around you. Blaine has been through so much. I just…I don’t know what I’d do if he got hurt again.

“And if I’m being honest…I was jealous of you too. Ever since I first saw you two together at the airport… The comfort level you have with each other; the easy relationship you have with him; the way you both seem to understand each other with little to no words necessary. He’s my baby brother. My flesh and blood. I’ve known him his entire life. Yet, I’ve always struggled when it came to understanding him. What he was thinking, or why he was saying – or doing – the things that he was. His actions didn’t always make sense to me. You’ve essentially known him for, what, 5 months? And you can read him like a book.

“Despite the attitude I gave you, the things you said to me yesterday really made me think. Then Blaine mentioned he had an anxiety attack earlier that day, and I just…” he paused, seemingly at a loss for words, “I felt like I was slapped across the face. It was a bit of a wake up for me. After you left, Blainey and I talked about a lot of stuff; and I did what you said; I listened to him. _Really_ listened. And while I’m not sure that I fully understand _everything_ , I learned a lot.

“I’m sorry I judged you. You’re actually a pretty cool guy. I’m glad my little brother has someone like you in his life. I hope we get another chance to hang out before I leave on Monday.”

“I’m sure we will” Kurt said, smiling at Cooper. “And thank you. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you to say. But I really do appreciate you saying it.” The elevator doors opened, and Kurt stepped on. As the doors were closing Kurt waved and said, “See ya around, Coop.”

 


End file.
